Quantitative chirality analysis of molecular subunits of bis(oxazoline)copper(II) complexes in relation to their enantioselective catalytic activity

The analysis of the quantitative chirality of molecular subunits of spirocyclic bisoxazoline copper complexes was carried out in order to identify the molecular portions most responsible for the chirality of the whole molecule, and therefore also for its catalytic enantioselectivity. It is shown that the smallest fragment that carries the information on molecular chirality contains only a portion of the bidentate bisoxazoline ligands and most atoms of the two monodentate ligands. The structural parameters that are best correlated to the chirality measures of the studied systems are the bond angles at the bridgehead spiro-carbon atom. A prediction is made for an analogous catalyst with potentially high enatioselectivity.